Guy Fieri

Guy Fieri

personal background

fieri lives in Santa Rosa, California with his wife Lori and their two sons, Hunter and Ryder. When he and Lori wed in 1995, the chef switched his last name to "Fieri" to honor his original family name, which his grandfather had changed upon leaving Italy.

FACS Career

While attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Fieri worked several different restaurant jobs. He even served as a flambé captain for a time. After earning his degree in hospitality management, Fieri continued working in restaurants. He put his degree to work at a Stouffer's restaurant, and later became a district manager for Louise's Trattoria

training

In 1996, Fieri started his first restaurant with partner Steve Gruber. The pair launched an Italian eatery called Johnny Garlic's in Santa Rosa, California. They eventually open two more locations. Fieri and Gruber branched out from Italian fare to launch Tex Wasabi's in 2003. The restaurant is a fusion of Southern BBQ and California-style sushi.

Egged on by his friends, Fieri sent in a videotape to the reality show Next Food Network Star in 2005. He told the network that he likes to "live big, laugh hard, and cook wild" in his audition video. His rock 'n' roll attitude helped earn him a chance to compete, beating out more than 1,000 other entrants. Fieri tackled challenges from such television culinary stars as Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen, Rachel Ray and Bobby Flay. In 2006, he emerged victorious, becoming the second person to win the cooking reality show.

personal traits

Growing up in Ferndale, California, Guy Fieri developed a passion for food and entrepreneurship early on. He and his father built a special pretzel cart when he was 10 years old. Fieri eventually earned enough money from selling pretzels to fund the adventure of a lifetime; at the age of 16, Fieri spent a year studying in France, which furthered his culinary education.